Norwalk Just Misses Top 10 In Final Football Poll

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The football team just missed cracking the top 10 in the final New Haven Register media top 10 state poll.

The Bears, who lost to eventual state champion Xavier 55-14 in the Class LL semifinals, were voted 11th.

Norwalk enjoyed a banner season under first-year head coach Sean Ireland, finishing 10-1.

The Bears qualified for the state playoffs for the first time since 1998, then defeated Conard 21-15 in the quarterfinals for the first postseason win in school history.

As expected, Xavier and Hand, who posted decisive state championship game victories over FCIAC opponents, were voted one-two.

Xavier routed Staples 42-7 in the Class LL final on Saturday to complete its second straight 13-0 season and Hand downed New Canaan 34-10 in the Class L final to also finish 13-0.

Ansonia, which became the first team in state history to go 14-0, was voted third after blanking Ledyard 38-0 in the Class M title game.

Staples, which ended the regular season at No. 5, climbed one spot to fourth after concluding the season at 11-1.

New Canaan (11-2), which reached the state championship game for the sixth consecutive year, jumped two spots to sixth.

Completing the top 10 were Masuk (12-1), New Canaan, Windsor (11-1), Holy Cross (10-2), New London (9-2) and Notre Dame-West Haven (8-3).

Masuk, which had won 24 straight games, slipped three spots to fifth following a 35-14 loss to Hand in the Class L semifinals.

Windsor dropped one spot to seventh after a 27-24 loss to New Canaan in the Class L semifinals. New London, which fell to the Rams 27-26 in the Class L quarterfinals, fell two spots to ninth.

Holy Cross, which won the Class S state championship with a 34-27 victory over Cromwell, jumped to eighth after not being ranked at the end of the regular season.

Notre Dame-West Haven, which fell to Windsor 14-7 in the quarterfinals of the Class L playoffs, dropped one spot to 10th.

***

Tom Keyes makes his head-coaching debut debut for the boys basketball team on Wednesday when the Bears open their season at Staples (7 p.m.)

Keyes takes over for Bobby Trimboli, the Bears' coach for the past four seasons. Keyes spent last season as an assistant at Westhill and also has served as the head coach at the High School of Applied Communication in Queens, N.Y.

A native of Long Island, N.Y., Keyes was the student manager of the men's basketball team at Marist College.

Keyes inherits a once-proud program that is in a rebuilding state as the Bears are coming off a 4-16 season.

MONDAY'S RESULTS

No games scheduled

TUESDAY'S SCHEDULE

No games scheduled

WEDNESDAY'S SCHEDULE

Boys basketball

Norwalk at Staples, 7 p.m.

Bassick at McMahon, 7 p.m.

Girls basketball

Staples at Norwalk, 5:45 p.m.

McMahon at Bassick, 5:45 p.m.

Boys hockey

Norwalk-McMahon vs. Barlow, 6:40 p.m., at Danbury Ice Arena

Wrestling

McMahon at Harding, 4 p.m.

STANDINGS

BOYS BASKETBALL

West Division

FCIAC Record

Overall Record

Central Division

FCIAC Record

Overall Record

East Division

FCIAC Record

Overall Record

0-0

GIRLS BASKETBALL

West Division

FCIAC Record

Overall Record

Central Division

East Division

0-2

BOYS HOCKEY